Page 107 of Fracture

“Where did he take you? Was it to one of the houses where they keep the other women?”

“What…?” Lorelei had a flash of memory. She saw half a dozen women in a room. Mattresses on the floor, a bucket in the corner. The door was wide open, but none of them were trying to get away.

“What did he do to you?”

“You set me up,” Lorelei whispered.

“You weren’t supposed to survive,” the woman said. “You won’t this time.”

“What?” Lorelei jumped up as she heard a noise behind her.

“Lorelei, watch out!” Vinnie shouted.

Lorelei moved just before a bat hit the bench she was sitting on. The wood splintered.

The woman’s eyes went wide. She scrambled backward.

Lorelei was not going to let her get away. She went after the woman into the darkness, knowing Vinnie would take care of whoever had the bat.

The tree cover was thick, and the darkness didn’t help. Lorelei stopped for a second, listening for a sound to tell her where the woman went. A twig snapped to her right, and she turned to go that way.

The woman ran toward the parking lot. It was empty when Lorelei and Vinnie got there, and she didn’t hear any cars pull in.

The sound of fighting behind her made Lorelei pause and think about turning back to help Vinnie, but she had to find the woman. Needed to know why she handed her over. Who she was. What was going on.

The woman turned the corner of the building and was out of sight for fifteen seconds when Lorelei heard a gunshot.

Lorelei crouched low, unsure which direction the shot came from or who took it. Behind her were footsteps. Did the woman somehow get behind her? And who was shooting?

“Lorelei!” Vinnie shouted.

“I’m here,” she replied.

He was close, the footsteps she heard. “Was that you?”

Lorelei shook her head as he cupped her jaw and ran his hands over her body. “I don’t have my gun. I don’t know who fired.”

“You’re not hit?”

“No. I’m good.”

Vinnie pulled his gun from his holster and handed it to her. He took his second one and nodded to her. “Let’s go.”

Lorelei took the lead, feeling a mix of relief and gratitude that he was still going to let her lead. They were side-by-side when they came around the edge of the building.

The woman was on the ground. Blood poured from her head. Her vacant eyes stared up at them.

“They’re getting away,” Vinnie hissed, moving around Lorelei.

She looked up and saw a vehicle driving along the edge of the parking area. A man ran toward the silent SUV with a splintered bat in his hand. The door opened, and he jumped in, and the SUV took off before Vinnie or Lorelei could get close enough to see anything.

“Dammit!” Vinnie shouted.

“What the hell just happened?” Lorelei asked.

Vinnie sighed and shook his head. “I don’t know, but if we’re lucky, she can tell us something.”

“She’s dead, Vinnie.”